San Francisco Film Festival honors cinema innovator Ray Dolby

The San Francisco Film Society honored Ray Dolby with the George Gund III Award at the 56th annual San Francisco International Film Festival, the longest-running film festival in the Americas.

Among the filmmakers celebrating Ray Dolby’s distinguished service to cinema as an art form was Ben Burtt, sound designer for Star Wars and creator of its many iconic sound effects. Describing Ray Dolby as “a scientist who invents tools for the artist,” Burtt said, “the result is a whole new frontier for the filmmakers.”

According to San Francisco filmmaker Paul Meyers, “among the many legacies of Ray Dolby is a continual striving for this more visceral kind of cinema, an endeavor carried on by his many collaborators at the company he founded. It is a beautiful thing to behold—and of course, to hear.”

Read more about the man whose life inspired the creation of the George Gund III Award.